


And Then

by root_chakra



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/F, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-03
Updated: 2015-01-11
Packaged: 2018-03-05 04:02:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3104843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/root_chakra/pseuds/root_chakra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Let's be honest, hand-holding leaves lots to be desired. This is the chronicled tale of what happens after Korra and Asami return from their trip to the Spirit World. Are things ever as simple as "hold my hand and be mine?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 5 Polar Bear Dogs

After the earthy floors of the Spirit World, the first night back in her cozy Air Temple bed should be the makings of a well-rested couple of hours. -But, the The Avatar is anything but sleeping.  

Korra kicks around in her sheets, restless, trying to get comfortable but _something_ is missing. The spot on the bed, next to Korra, is brutally empty. 

Staring at the tangled white sheets and unused pillow to her side is doing her no good. She finally resorts to rolling on to her back with a loud huff. Though, now the stark white ceiling above her is stifling compared to the open night skies she rested under the previous 2 weeks. 

 

* * *

 

_Asami Sato and Avatar Korra sit cross-legged at the base of one of the tallest trees in Xai Bau’s Grove. A few quiet spirits bounce around above them weaving around the trees. What little light still flickers from their small fire illuminates the lush, shimmering purple grass within a certain radius of their campsite._  

_The two of them look like a pair of school girls at a sleepover, too glad about the company to even think about sleep._

_“-I’m serious! It’s a true story!”_

_Asami laughs airily. “So it just gave you attitude like that and you let it?”_

_“Well what was I supposed to do?!He’s all spirit-y and goes *poof* before I could get a word in.”_

_“But you woulda shown that guy, I’m sure,” she humors Korra._

_The bender puffs up her chest and counters, “Well I am the Avatar.”_

_Asami laughs more and catches herself with a hand flying to her mouth -but it’s too late. One of the spirits above them shushes the pair and apparently not for the first time._

_“Haven’t you two ever heard of sleep!” the spirit whispers crossly._

_Korra looks up in the tree. “Do you guys even sleep?”_

_Asami’s covered mouth fails to hide her giggle and the spirit rolls his eyes and evaporates away._

_When they both look down from the tree and catch each other’s eye at the exact same moment, the energy switches from playful to charged. It’s quiet now and the fire is less a campfire and more… mood lighting._

_Korra speaks first but now hushed, “I guess I wouldn’t be a good ‘bridge between the spirits and the humans’ if I didn’t suggest we let them get some sleep.”_

_“Heh. I guess not.”_

_“And we should too anyway, if we’re going to make the hike to Hai-Riyo tomorrow.”_

_Asami starts to fiddle with her fingers._

_“Yep."_

_They both yank at their bags. Korra pulls out her rolled up blanket and Asami does the same but they both pause waiting to see where the other would lay their’s out._

_Asami clears her throat._

_The tension from the moment they shared while crossing through the portal writhes its way back up between them. Neither of them made any mention of their interlocked fingers as they made their way through the gorgeous grove. Even Korra had never fully had the chance to stop and simply take in the otherworldly elements of the spirit world. They were both engrossed in the scenery and then Korra let go of Asami’s hand to play with a dragonfly bunny spirit and awkwardly forgot to recapture it afterwards._

_Since then, talking about Varrick and Zhu Li, Korra showing off some bending and telling stories of the legendary sky bears served as a good filler to prevent them from broaching the subject. After hours passed without mention of the moment, it just hung between them, the opportunity to confront it, long passed._

_Korra flaps out her blanket and moves to lay down but clearly leaves enough space for another body to lay next to her on the cover.  At this,_ _Asami chirps up, “We could use one for the floor and mine to cover ourselves with. -I mean if you’re comfortable sharing.”_

_Korra smiles in response and says, “Ever the engineer.”_

_It seems to diffuse Asami’s apprehension and she slides in next to the younger girl and more elegantly unfolds her own blanket, covering both of them._

_They’re elbow to elbow staring up at the dancing sky._

_“Those jackets you’re always wearing are finally gonna get their chance to keep you warm,” Korra starts._  

_Asami smiles and responds, “Are you making fun of my style? Because I do recall it once being referred to as, and I quote, ‘snazzy’ by a certain Avatar.”_

_Korra blushes bright red much like she did when she originally paid her the compliment and tries to save herself by joking, “Aang said that? Such a nice guy..”_ _A small smirk turns slowly into a wide grin on both their faces._

_“Hey, I’m sure Aang probably stands behind that compliment. On a scale of 1 to snazzy, you’re pretty snazzy.”_

_Korra bites her lip. She uses some nerve to push up and rest her head on her fist, facing Asami._

_“…aaand you’re right. I can’t make fun of it…”_

_It doesn’t seem like the end of her sentence so Asami just looks up at her, waiting for the missing piece. When it does come, it’s through the smallest voice she’s ever heard the adamant, strong, boisterous Korra say anything with._

_“..I wouldn’t change anything about you.”_

_Before she loses her nerve and without looking at Asami, Korra reaches across the other woman to grab the hand that’s resting outside the blanket. She stares at their interlocked fingers for a while before actually venturing to look Asami in the eyes. What she finds there is the same loving look from hours before._

_She rests her head back down slowly not breaking eye contact and definitely not letting go of the older woman’s hand. The reach-over hold makes it such that Korra is fully embracing Asami as the big spoon. In response, Asami turns on her side, into the cuddle, sparking the comfortable position that the two of them would automatically assume every night for the next two weeks._

 

* * *

 

Korra sighs frustratedly realizing why she can’t sleep in such an empty bed anymore and closes her eyes to the memory. 

She wouldn’t care so much if Asami hadn’t decided to stay on Air Temple Island earlier that night. She was so sweet; she brought Korra all the way out to the island knowing full well that Korra could take care of herself and was intending to take the ferry back to the City on her own but they had gotten back so late, Pema suggested Asami just sleep here. 

So, the girl keeping Korra up happened to be on the other side of the girl’s dormitory. Sleep or no sleep, Asami would look snazzy as usual in the morning and the last thing the Avatar wanted was to have to see her in a couple hours looking like a zombie in a Nuck Tuck mover because of a lack of zzz's.

Korra pulls at her face and groans, “Ughhggahhhhh!”

As a last resort she tries to count polar bear dogs like she did when she was a kid.

_1 polar bear dog_

 

_2 polar bear dogs_

 

_3 polar bear dogs_

 

_4 polar bear dogs_

 

_5 polar be-_

 

_Nope._

She opens her eyes again and throws the sheets off of her. It wouldn’t hurt to just _check_ and see if Asami was awake too.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've got 13 scenes/chapters mapped out and a possible direction to go in if you all like it. So for now lets call this a series of narrative one-shots but it could turn into Book 5 depending on feedback 
> 
> I'll get to writing the next chapter and 10 comments gets a quicker post, fair deal? :P


	2. Stealth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @joefish: coincidentally, I think you may enjoy this chapter or at least I hope you will haha 
> 
> aaaand this chapter dedicated to @chosenavatar because after you stoke an ego like that, an early update is coming either way my friend lol

...Previously... A restless Korra realizes she cant sleep because something, or someone, is missing-

 

 

> She opens her eyes again and throws the sheets off of her. It wouldn’t hurt to just  _check_ and see if Asami was awake too. 

 

Korra swings her legs over the side of the low-hanging bed and sneaks out of the room. 

A couple seconds go by.... before  she animatedly retreats back into the room, decidedly not ready to face Asami. 

She shakes off some of the more present nerves and moves to check herself in the small mirror. The reflected image is a mess.

She licks her hand and forces down the erratic bedhead.  Then, she turns to go through her small wardrobe and pulls out and on some more appropriate pajama pants. She pauses before switching the top as well, deciding the traditional cropped water tribe garb was probably okay.

On the second mirror check, she winks and fires a finger-gun at her reflection. 

She paces a bit going over her excuse to check in on Asami in whispers out loud, "Heh, funny seeing you, here, in your room, where you stay..." she shakes her head and continues pacing, "...Hey Asami I know it's the dead of the night and you're probably getting the most comfortable night's sleep in two weeks, but I thought I heard you coughing so I figured I'd come ask if you want some tea..." Korra stops and looks in the mirror still practicing. "Any room on that futon?...

...Is your pillow as hard as mine is? whew!..

...Huh, I thought I heard you call me...

...Oh sorry! I must have been sleep walking..."

Korra rolls her eyes and elects to just choose something more in the moment.

Lastly, she cups her hand in front of her face and breathes into it to get a jist of her breath situation, finally pleased enough to face the music. Only then, does Korra again start to sneak slowly out of her old room.  

At the opposite far end of the hall is Jinora’s room. Ever since Zaheer, the younger bending master has been hyper sensitive and unconsciously atuned anytime Korra experiences an unexpected heightened emotion. This a fact which could prove detrimental in the sneaking-in-the-wee-of-the-night-to-go-sleep-with-girl-friend operation so, as she tiptoes backwards, Korra stares in the direction of Jinora’s room. 

The sliding door isn’t fully shut, providing ample enough opportunity for Jinora to simply hear a creak in the wood rather then being awoken by their spiritual connection. The Avatar tries to remain calm as she backs closer to the end of the hall. She inches to the turn at the corridor and just as she’s about to rotate -she backs straight into Asami!

Korra jumps and starts to sputter as she turns around, mirroring Asami's reaction. Korra's eyes land on the balled fists of Asami, who appears to have been equally as tense sneaking around the living quarters of the Temple. When her gaze moves up from the slender, pale hands and lands on the face of her former vacation partner, and vice versa, both begin to beam like idiots. 

Korra starts, “Hey-!,“ but Asami hurriedly holds her finger up to her own smiling mouth and curtly shushes the younger girl. 

Korra stifles a snicker and looks back to the hall behind her and the several sliding doors it contains. None of the doors slide open tough so Korra turns back to face Asami. The look she finds on the latter's face is expectant of _something_...  For a moment, everything and everyone else is forgotten as they both start to search each other’s eyes for verification. They both contemplate whether they should just admit they had similar plans of finding the other but neither act on the idea.

With them, silence usually threatens a segue to awkwardness so the preventative Asami quickly whispers, “Going to the bathroom, too?” 

Korra tries to remember one of the stories she had prepared. There was something about tea... Her brain is working against her so instead of coming up with her own cover she safely sticks with the alibi she was offered-

“Yep. You remember where it is, right?”

Korra vaguely connects Asami’s smile to the type she sees on Meelo when he’s caught with his hand in the moon cake jar, that "Oh, am I not supposed to be here" faux innocence. When the older girl admittedly shakes her head “no” Korra just smirks and beckons for Asami to follow her.

 

* * *

 

Korra emerges from the small washroom and Asami is still where she left her, leaning against the threshold, looking deep in thought. Korra opens her mouth to say something but nothing comes out so she resigns to smile softly at the emerald-eyed engineer.

"So..." Korra tugs at one of her loose hair ties, "all yours."

Asami smiles back at her and maneuvers to let the Avatar move past.

Korra’s a couple steps back down the hall again when Asami, on a whim, calls out in a rushed whisper- “Korra!”

She turns back and finds Asami standing stark straight now with a hand outstretched and looking maybe even a bit confused herself by the plea in her voice. Nevertheless, the water tribe woman walks back. 

Asami gulps.

“Yeah?”

“Uh…”

The world-renowned industrial genius rubs the back of her neck and flops her head bashfully in preparation for her confession.

“Um, so… I _could_ go in there,” she points to the washroom, “but I didn’t actually have to go to the bathroom…”

At first, Korra looks confused but then she perks up. “You didn’t?”

A nervous Asami tucks a lock of her own hair back into place.

“See, uh, I was actually on my way to... your room…actually. I- I don't know why, well, I mean, I sorta have an idea, but I didn't mean to- to lie to you or anything.. It just...”

Asami is visibly flustered by her own faltering and stammering.

A natural business professional and usually so decisive and deliberate with her words, lately Asami has been off. It started that first morning in the Spirit World when they woke up still nestled in each other and, going off of Korra's lead, went about the day without any mention of their sleeping arrangement. By the third night, Asami started stewing on their weird new routine of expecting each other's warmth at night and carrying on business as usual during the day. But it clearly wasn't driving Korra as crazy as it was her more cautious counterpart.  By the last night, Asami was buzzing. 

 

* * *

 

_Asami is stunned.  The Avatar has literally broken her heart._

_They had finally decided on resting as they trekked back down a mountain when Korra spotted a calm river bank. The secluded opening was surrounded by all the tinier, cuter spirits that Asami liked, not the mean looking ones. The girls had taken off their shoes and curled their toes into the earth. It was a perfect moment that Asami was planning on bathing in -until the water bender did what comes naturally to her._

_Asami did hear her friend get up and move to the water but didn't think anything of it. It was already too late when she cracked an eye open because Korra had hurled a huge water orb in Asami's direction, completely soaking what Korra_ knew _was Asami's absolute favorite jacket._

_And so, seconds later Asami sits with her mouth agape and her body frozen, stunned. She would cry if she wasn't so afraid of acting like the materialistic heiress everyone expected around the tough Korra. Instead, she looks up from her now damp clothes and sees Korra has already loaded up new ammo, hovering an orb of stream water between the spaces in her hands. And worst of all, she's smirking._

_"Korra!"_

_"What? I had to get you out of those darn gloomy clothes somehow, didn't I?"_

_Asami sputters. "But - But- ..."_

_Korra tosses the orb up and catches it behind her back, showing off and speaking at the same time. "See? You've got to be so hot from that hike that you can't even form words. Yet, you still wear the layers and layers of black and red. It's time to let go of your earthly attachments and stop hiding under those dark colors." She stops tossing the ball, feigning seriousness, "You're welcome."_

_Asami resembles her combustible fire bender roots more than she ever has before. She stands up and forcefully strips the jacket off as well as the thick sweater underneath. She rests them on a low-hanging tree branch to dry, leaving only a burgundy tank top covering her torso._

_"You realize this means I have to kill you right?" she says nonchalantly as she pulls up the legs of her already knee-length baggy pants._

_Korra, who was miming spinning the water orb on her finger actually hits the water and it splashes in her face. Asami laughs out loud so un-lady-like that she actually covers her mouth._

_"Oh, ho, ho, well I'm glad you think it's so hilarious Miss Sato because you'll be gasping for breath after the joke I've got over here." She quickly bends a splash of water, once more landing square in Asami's face and cascading to the rest of her body._

_The older girl fumes red and when Asami's eyes open again and lock in on her, _the Avatar turns to run into the calm stream, hoping Asami won't venture into the water_. _

_She does. Asami chases right after her into the water and Korra, girlishly_ _screaming, desperately and franticly bends water pellets back at her friend behind her._

_Dodging and maneuvering past the untimed and unplanned shots, Asami yells jokingly, "Hey no bending! That's cheating! Face me like a man!-"_

 

_Later, Asami rings out her hair one last time. _

_ There is still an impressive amount of water from the day's impromptu activities dampening the thick dark mane. Where Korra's couple of inches easily air-dried within an hour, Asami has felt like a wet dog since their, albeit, extremely fun, water fight. To make matters worse, for whatever reason, and fueled tenfold by the last two weeks in the Spirit World together, Asami has tried actively going out of her way to feel and look attractive around Korra and the running makeup and frou frou hair contend that pursuit swimmingly -pun intended. _

_ She is visibly mopey when Korra returns to the campsite but the latter doesn't instantly pick up on it. _

_ "Soo, did you finally have fun today?"_

_ Korra walks past Asami and starts rummaging through her bag for something. _

_ "What are you talking about? I've had fun every day since we got here!" _

_ Korra looks up to give her a briefly dubious expression and Asami caves. _

_ "...But yeah.. moreso today than the others." _

_ Korra smiles into her belongings.  _

_ Asami mutters more to herself, "I have fun..." and _ _goes back to moping with an unspoken "harumph." _

_ In contemplating the other woman's words though, she realizes she may have let herself become preoccupied with thoughts of Korra during a trip specifically designed to take her mind off of the heavy things of late. On the outside, she probably looked really miserable even when she was genuinely enjoying Korra's company. But this was only because the more fun she let herself have, the more her thoughts always drew back to whether or not they would broach the unspoken thing they'd been doing. _

_ When Korra finally pulls out her dinner pack she shakes it out, open end down and the last meal falls to the blanket thats already been spread on the floor. She looks through the bag as if she's missing something. _

_ "Has it really already been two weeks?" _

_ Asami is drawn out of her thoughts. _

_ "What? No it hasn't." She walks over to Korra and kneels over the bag too, coming to the same conclusion as her companion did. _

_ "Hmm," Korra looks thoughtful "I guess... this is the last night?" _

_ Korra turns, slumping over to prepare the food, seeming lost in her own thoughts. _

_ But for Asami, everything is clear. She doesn't have to analyze her feelings or think about much because she's got one very obvious and distinct feeling that bubbles to the surface the instant she sees Korra's empty bag. _

_ Dread is the only thing that sears through Asami and she suddenly gets, all at once, what she's really been moping about since that first night alone with Korra: time. The time they had until they were no longer alone -together. And that time was up. This was why Asami wanted to talk so badly about where they stood because if it was one thing the older woman knew about the young Avatar, it was that, once out in the real world, getting her to open up, to let other people shoulder whatever was going on in her mind, was like getting Bolin to metal bend.  _

_ Beyond almost anything else, Asami feared that whatever force took hold of Korra the moment they stepped into the portal -and with whatever had been happening between them since- would stop when they stepped back out and real world things fell into the mix. Things like responsibilities, and Air Acolytes, and spirits, and chi blockers, and poisons, and destroyed cities and revived ones..._

_ "Asami?" _

_ Korra's eyes dart around when Asami doesn't respond._

_ "Asami, what's wrong? Is there a moth wasp in my hair again!?" _

_Asami snaps out of it. _

_ "No, no. It's nothing, nothing's wrong!" _

_ Korra sits cross-legged in front of the kneeling non-bender who attempts a smile that doesn't reach her eyes. _

_ "You were staring at me..." When Asami doesn't say anything in response, Korra guesses, "Is it because we're leaving? Because, I'll stay if you want to! Or I could just go check out how everything's going in the city and then we can get more supplies and come back?"_

_ Asami's smile genuinely broadens now at Korra being her thoughtful and selfless self.  _

_ "You're so nice... It's not that, I promise. We both have jobs to do and people who need us. I'm okay leaving, I get it. Really." _

_ But Korra's still not nullified. She searches her mind and then,  _ _ "Well then, is it..." and something dawns on her, "your jacket! Oh I'm so sorry are you really upset about that-" Korra moves to gets up and only gets to one knee, about to see what she could do about the jacket, when Asami reaches out for her hand and stops her. _

_ "No, no, no. Not at all! It's just a jacket...that, admittedly, I really loved," _ _ Asami tries to joke but Korra has already stopped in her tracks. She slowly returns to sit on the floor thinking she finally understands. Korra reaches around Asami's hand and reverses the hold. She's grasping Asami's hand now. _

_"It's because you're cold! You're freezing." _

_ Asami opens her mouth to protest but then shrugs. "Actually... a little." _

_ Korra thinks and then, "Here, sit." _

_ Asami studies the younger woman questioningly but gives in and mimics her friend's crossed legs, settling across from Korra. _

_ "Hold your palms out like this."  _

_ Again, the woman obliges, mimicking and waiting to see where Korra is going with this. _

_ "Okay. Close your eyes." _

_ Asami thoughtlessly trusts the other woman and does as she's told. With Asami's eyes closed now, Korra takes in the image of her. No purple eye shadow, now elaborate braids, and not stifled by layers of clothes, just an extremely attractive girl sitting across from her. She sighs gently and remembers what she was going to do.  _

_ The raven-haired girl feels open palms enclose over her own, hovering so close above hers that they're almost holding hands again, the way they did as they entered through the portal. A tingle starts in the tips of her fingers. Like the slow embers of a fire spark before they burn, Asami begins to feel warmth spreading quickly through her entire body, beginning in her palms. Slowly, she begins to quietly pant though she doesn't know if from heat or the proximity to the Avatar. They've been close physically for a while but this particular proximity, Asami feels in her bones and in her core; it's primal, spiritual even._

_ She peeks an eye open and, as if reading her mind, Korra reciprocates. _

_ "Is this some sort of fire bending technique." _

_ Korra smiles. _

_ "No, it's chi, actually." After a thought she continues, "It took _ days _for Katara to reach me like this. It's weird, _I got in so quickly._ You must be really open to me... my energy." _

_ And in an instant, everything Asami could have said to Korra was out on the table and in the Avatar's own words nonetheless. Hours on end of Asami waiting for an opening to start a lengthy discussion and here the Avatar said it all through a comment about her chi. And suddenly sitting there, breathing the same air, sharing the same space and apparently even now the same energy, Asami realizes she could talk until the air bison come home but it's irrelevant now that Korra has experienced first hand how open and willing Asami was to let her in. Even more importantly, Asami gets that now it is up to Korra to be open back.  _

_ A weight lifts off of Asami's shoulders. She decides then to enjoy the last night and to simply be around Korra as long as she could, even endure the ferry to Air temple Island because time with Korra was all she could ask for.  _

_They don't have some big talk. Asami only needs to say two words and make them count. _

_She nods and whispers, "I am." _

 

* * *

 

Korra smiles widely and even in the windowless and thus tenebrous hall, each of her bright teeth clearly show. 

Asami -who doesn’t notice the smile- too busy looking everywhere but at Korra, finishes her thought, “..I mean, I just felt like I should check on you!” 

Korra’s gaze follows the direction of the other girl's downcast survey of the floor, and then looks back up to Asami's face.“Asami, that's sweet but there’s usually no big bad in the Air Temple in the middle of the night.”

The green eyes resemble those of a ogling polar bear dog realizing he’s not going to get his treat, with a pout. All of her nervous ticks come out in flares. She slowly cuffs one of her wrists with her hand in a circular motion, ringing it out absentmindedly. She responds, “Yeah.. I know.”

Not able to let her suffer long, Korra grabs her rubbing hand away from her wrist. Before she knows it, their fingers are intertwining, prompting Asami to finally look up.

“But while we’re admitting things… I _totally_ just pretended to go.”

Asami smirks and half looks skeptical that her friend is just trying to make her feel better.

“You did?”

“Even water benders can't force themself to pee."

Asami chuckles and Korra continues, "I couldn’t sleep. I- I remembered something.”

The taller woman responds with a questioning look.

“I don't think I’ve ever taken you to see the bison peak.”

Asami’s questioning look becomes a full tilted head. She’s completely confused by the direction the conversation took.

“Well, it’s almost a crime to be so close and not go see it. And as the avatar it’s my duty to prevent crime, especially of this nature.”

Asami catches on and begins to play along, sporting her own full grin now. She nods along and responds “Oh, well, I’ll be more likely to overlook this travesty the faster you get me to said peak.”

Korra smiles and holds tighter to her hand. Seriously, she raises a finger to her mouth and silently shushes her counterpart. 

In the next 20 minutes, Asami is lead quietly over every creaky floorboard, through the dormitory front doors, and around the training arena; they bob and weave through the kitchen and dining hall -where Korra left her staff earlier that evening. The women push once again into the fresh evening air, towards the meditation pavilion. Despite the structure supposedly being the edge of the island, Korra doesn't stop. She redirects to the cliff, abruptly pulls Asami to her, and shakes the staff’s glider wings out.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter 3 release planned for next sunday.  
> comment inspiration obliges me to that earlier update though (another 10 doable anyone???) until then, friends happy sunday!  
> \--


	3. Stuff and Things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> posting a tad early because 8-10, potato-potahtoe lol  
> dedication for this one goes out to @thief21 because of reasons :P

...Previously... after a failed attempt to fall asleep without each other, Korra and Asami, bump into each other sneaking around the Air Temple Girl's Dorm and decide to go on a late night adventure to the air bison caves.

 

> Despite the structure supposedly being the edge of the island, Korra doesn't stop. She redirects to the cliff, abruptly pulls Asami to her, and shakes the staff’s glider wings out.

 

When they touch down on the side of the mountain, Asami looks flustered from having clung so closely to the younger girl’s side. 

“You okay, Asami?” 

She hurries to think up a reason for her blush that isn't entirely untrue. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m biased to this particular pilot, but I’d prefer the Cabbage Corp airships any day. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to flying without some sort of stability.”

Korra theatrically flexes her bicep and makes a satirical show of saying, “Never fear, you're with the Avatar. No smoother glider pilot on the planet!”

Asami smirks and grants her an, “Undoubtedly,” boosting Korra’s pride. The former laughs to herself and bends to pull up a sock inside her boot as Korra clicks the wings of the glider back into place. 

After pulling tufts of hair out of her face, for the first time, Asami is able to take in the spot Korra's brought her to. They’re on a small patch of ridges lower down, closer to the water that surrounds Air Temple Island. The specific spot they landed on is the higher ground with view of the otherwise valleyed field surrounded by caves in the peaks of the rock. Asami blinks in awe and follows her feet’s gravitation towards the sight. 

Korra, hangs back, plants the staff firmly on the ground, wraps one arm around it for support and rests the other on her hip as she leans poignantly on the staff.

 

The more her eyes begin to adjust to the lack of light, the more Asami notice’s details that phased her when they first landed. The meadow is adorned with a plethora of colorful vegetation. All around are scrub bushes, small yellow and purple wildflowers, and at the base of the small valley, pink-leaved deciduous forestry. Asami tries to make out a patch of white fluff at the entrance to one of the caves. She thinks _maybe a rug?_ but that’s ridiculous and, squinting more, she realizes it's the tail of a sleeping bison! Suddenly, she starts to notice evidence of a whole herd. 

Asami’s eyes go wide and she steps even closer, noting the loud snores rocketing off of the cave walls and out into the clearing. Some of them even have taken up cozier seeming spots under the trees on the floor, nearly completely hidden by the tall casted shadows. 

She breathlessly whispers, “Wow.”

Korra pushes off the stick, smiling proudly to herself, and walks to Asami. “Yep.”

 Without turning to face the approaching Korra, Asami beams and adds, “And here I was, thinking you didn't have anything left to show me after last week…”

 

She finally turns to see Korra, smiling, but they catch on to a rather presumptuous implication in the words at the same time and both blush furiously. They resort to looking at the scenery. 

Korra plops down at the edge of the small overlooking cliff and rests the glider next to her.

“Hey, I still have loads of stuff and... things left that you don't know about, lady.”

Asami smiles and joins her on the floor. She has to kneel and rest back on her feet because, unlike Korra, her light nightgown threatens to expose a little more than Korra's concealing, fluffy blue water tribe trousers.

“Oh, really? And where are you hiding these infinite ‘stuff and things’.”

She shrugs in response. “An Avatar can’t reveal all of her secrets to just anyone, Asami.”

Asami laughs and leans forward, letting her hair fall to the right of her face. With Korra’s left knee up and left arm resting on it, the two of them have created an imaginary apparatus, boxing themselves off to the outside world on either side. Asami turns more fully in to the imaginary box to face the girl opposite her and reaches over to turn Korra's hand over in her own until it is face up. She becomes fixated on the darker girl’s palm lines and traces the creases. 

Still jokingly, with only a hint of earnestness, Asami plays along, “Hello, I’m not 'just anyone.' Ask the press... I’ve done things.”

“Oh yes, oh yes. My apologies Miss Sato. I don’t know what I was thinking. In that case let me reveal all of my secrets.” Korra checks an invisible watch on her free hand. “We’ve got about 4 hours until the rest of the world wakes up. Is now a good time for you?”

Now fully acting out the melodramatic heiress character she's devised, Asami pulls away from Korra with a huff and retorts, “Oh, well now I’ve been offended. I’ll have to reconsider the company I keep.”

Smiling, Korra tugs at the raven-haired girl to turn back to her until she's got her securely in both arms.  In response, she overacts, “Please! Forgive me! Give me one more chance…”

Asami playfully tries to squirm out of the hold until, slowly, they realize how close they’ve gotten and the quiet giggles subside. When Korra speaks again, it’s in her own voice, “…or I wont be able to let you go.”

Asami is short of breath from laughing and uselessly trying to fight out of the stronger girl’s grip but she relaxes and easily gives in to the now-real embrace.

Asami blows a strand of hair from her eyes and says, “In that case.. it’ll be a while before I forgive you.”

Korra looks down from Asami’s eyes to her lips. Asami notices and she braces herself.

 

\--“Muuurruuuurr!” They’re both both pulled out of the moment and turn to see one of the bison get up, circle its makeshift bed, and plop back down like a restless polar bear puppy marking its territory. Asami smiles at the sight and turns back to share the smile with Korra but she’s caught off guard when she finds Korra is already facing her with a look that can be described as nothing other than desire.

Korra's eyes dart so intently around the features of Asami’s face, it looks like she’s trying to commit every part of it to memory and before long Asami has the same fiery look in her eyes.

 

* * *

 

 Later, when the faint blue light of dawn begins to paint the sky above them, the two women are lying on their backs, heads resting near each other, with Korra’s left arm stretched under Asami’s head, her fingers still intertwined with those on Asami’s farther upturned hand.

Asami is shaking hard from laughing and Korra is smiling brightly.

Through her fading giggles, Asami says, “I refuse to believe you said that!”

Korra faintly laughs now too but still responds, “Did too!” 

“Korra, you are incredibly corny when you go into bad-guy-fighting mode. I'll need to commission someone to write you some better catch phrases if you insist on saying stuff to these guys once you beat them…”

"You can't commission perfection Asami."

Asami lets her laugh fade into a broad smile and a content hum. Unclasping one of her fingers from Asami's, Korra absentmindedly taps along with the tune.

Asami closes her eyes briefly as she confesses, “I'd have thought we'd run out of stories by now. I mean after two weeks, just us.” 

“Heh,” Korra glances out the corner of her eye, downward to her side, “You prep for the worst a lot don’t you”

Asami pulls some grass out from under her and throws it at Korra. 

“-And you don’t prep at all!”

“Hey! Plans are for the weak-hearted!”

They both chuckle and then silence creeps up between them. Finally, the quiet is becoming more natural and not as charged as before. They easily let it linger there for a moment and are able to hear animals chirping, clicking, groaning, or flapping awake.

 

Asami blurts out, “I feel like I could talk to you…”

Without a plan for the rest of the thought, she turns up to the sky and doesn't finish her sentence. 

It’s a while before Korra realizes the other woman obviously doesn't plan on finishing it so she attempts to for her, “…forever?”

Asami looks sideways at Korra, and the look they exchange verifies Korra’s guess.

 

“Geez, Asami. And you say I'm corny.” 

Korra smiles and Asami rolls her eyes playfully but the former rests her head in the crook of the older girl’s neck.

“I feel it too.”

Asami’s dozing off.

“Hmm.”

Korra continues, “Mine’s kinda like it’s just so easy to be with you that… why would I not… be… with you? Or, at least, _I_ don't want to…”

Asami blinks, staying awake as Korra keeps trying to explain the feeling, moreso for herself than for Asami.“I mean, I’m sneaking around the Air Temple to see you in the middle of the night. -And I love my sleep, Asami.” Out of eyeshot to Asami, Korra's expression starts to morph into one almost _worried_ as she negotiates her feelings out loud. “It's like I couldn’t sleep without..”

Asami sleepily helps, “…this?” She squeezes Korra's hand in her own.

The brief intensity dissolves from Korra’s face and she smiles in response. “Well that does it. We’re actually finishing each other sentences Miss Sato. No going back from that.”

They both laugh as the sun comes up on the other side of the towering Air Temple.

Through a yawn, Asami says quietly, “Speaking of going back..”

The yawn is contagious and through her own, Korra responds, “I’ll think about it.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooo let me respond to the hate I'm anticipating here haha- My ambiguous fluff is probably more aggravating than bryke's because I have no studio censoring me lol I get it, but there is a means to my madness. Don't worry, since it looks like I'll be taking more of a book 5 approach than one-shot compilation, their written intimacy will get more concrete when their relationship does. But bear with me, if _you're_ mad about the vagueness with which I left the scenes, imagine how much StoryAsami must be stewing right now.
> 
> you know the deal readers, throw me some ideas or feedback, get an early post, if not, have great week see you next time!


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